Kahlil Gibran is mistakenly considered to have written his poems in free verse or blank verse but actually he was hiding his exquisite tunes behind a mask, so that the dull wits and half wits of his times won't attempt to sing them. Songs from his immortal work Tears And Laughter are fine examples of a poet locking out his lines. Two poems from Tears And Laughter, Creation Of Man and Creation Of Woman are presented here, slightly edited and recast in the true poetic form by P.S.Remesh Chandran.

Kahlil Gibran was a U.S- Arabic- Lebanese poet who thrilled the world with exotic tunes and captivating ideas common to all Arab and Persian poets. This wonder that was Gibran brought excellent imagery unheard of and unthought-of of before to the pages of English poetry. His poems have been a source of unending inspiration to poets and poetry appreciating public alike. He is widely accepted as a writer of what is called free verse, blank verse or prose-poems. Considering the sweetness and mellowness of his lines, it is improbable that his mind had not been impregnated with some heavenly music at the time he wrote these lines. His poems can be compared only to such brilliant and musically inspired Persian poets as Gulchin, Sana'i, Rumi, Nizami, Jami, Hafiz, Amir Khusrau, Firdausi and of course Omar Khayyam. So it was only natural there was a hilarious tune concealed behind each song and poem written by Kahlil Gibran. In almost all his poems can be found traces of slight reference to brilliant geniuses being ignored, neglected or condemned by the half wits and the jealous of their times. Thus we come to guess that Kahlil Gibran hid his exquisite tunes behind a mask of blank verse so that the dull wits and half wits of his times won't attempt to sing them.

Statutory Warning: Whoever goes after Gibran will have to suffer the same fate depicted in his poems.
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Creation of the world. Painting by Brueghel.

It has been a challenge to music and poetry appreciators all over the world to rediscover the tunes hid by Gibran in his songs. A Dialectical Metaphysicist himself, some uncanny mystic fate surrounded and enveloped his poems which made them immune to unripe persons. Whoever went after Gibran to find out the hidden music in his poems had to suffer and undergo the same misery, poverty, isolation, neglect and suppression depicted by the poet in his poems. That is why those tunes and versifications which were discovered earlier never came out to the printer's press. The strike of fate on those unfortunates who attempted to recast his poems earlier might have been such forceful and complete that they never could have risen again in their lives. Recasting Gibran poems to bring out the rich musical content in them is easy, but surviving and surpassing the fatal strikes extended from the mystic hallo surrounding each poem is not at all easy. This author also did not escape unscathed. Someday I wish to write about my horrible experiences. And I hope someday the results of those other attempts would come to daylight and be published. When Gibran in one of his poems wrote about manuscript pages of the dying poet blown away to future generations by the wind, no one thought it to be a key to the mysticism surrounding the real life of this magical poet.

Dedicated to those who attempted Gibran poems earlier, but did not escape unscathed.
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Created the Garden of Eden for housing man.

Tears And Laughter is one of the immortal works of Kahlil Gibran, the others being The Broken Wings and The Prophet. All poems in these works are good to be read and sung. Poems from Tears And Laughter have since been slightly edited and recast in the true poetic form by P.S.Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. The following songs from this book are now released online so that all the world may sing them and enjoy them. Hope copyright restrictions if any won't hamper the zeal of the world and dampen the cherished wish of Gibran Fans in all countries. This work is dedicated to those creative minds from all corners of the world who attempted recasting Kahlil Gibran poems earlier, but did not survive the mystic and fatal blows from the poems.

The Creation Of ManThe Creation Of WomanA Poet's Death Is His LifeSong Of The RainSong Of The WaveA Lover's CallSomeone someday somewhere will recast all Gibran poems to bring out the rich musical content in them.
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Paradise painted in oil by Brueghel.

It is hoped that Kahlil Gibran's other works will also be brought out in the true poetic form by others elsewhere. In coming years, recasting of more songs in Tears And Laughter will be undertaken and published. Beautiful orchestrations also will be made which finally will show to the world what a U.S- Arabic- Lebanese combination means. Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum presents the first song in this series, The Creation Of Man before the poetry-appreciating public.

1. Creation Of Man. The Poem Recast.
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After creation, man was shown to other creatures.

Furnace of Anger gave consuming fire,Desert of Ignorance gave searing wind,The shore of Selfishness sharp-cutting sand,And feet of Ages coarse earth from under.Combining them God fashioned Man and gaveTo him a blind power, raging and drivingHim into madness which extinguishesOnly before gratification of Desire,And placed in him Life which is the spectre of Death.God laughed and cried, felt overwhelming LoveAnd Pity, and beneath his guidance sheltered Man.Burning fire in one eye, rolling ocean in the other.

God created man out of fire, wind, sand and earth provided by anger, ignorance, selfishness and ages respectively, leaving no mighty element untouched and unutilized for his creation. It was expected that the raging blind power blown into him would drive him into his inborn madness which would extinguish only upon attainment of gratification of his desire, consuming him finally. That was the scheme. Desire was invented and designed for him, and placed in him naturally. Then God placed life in him which is in fact a manifestation and the haunting ghost-like presentiment of death. God knew that man would die someday which man alone did not know until he ate the fruit, lost his innocence and divined the ultimate knowledge of life and death. The instant he ate the fruit, the first dead leaf fell in the garden. God did see in advance his creation going after gratification of his desire and after a brief span of life, lying somewhere dead and still. That was why he laughed and cried at the same time, feeling overwhelming joy and pity for this doomed fragile creation, and decided to stay with him and to protect him under his guidance like a child who will never grow.

2. Creation Of Woman. The Poem Recast.
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Woman created in elegance in the garden.

God separated Spirit from himself,Fashioned it into Beauty and showered uponAll blessings of gracefulness and kindnessAnd gave the cup of Happiness and said:"Drink not from this cup unless you forget pastAnd future, happiness but this moment."He also gave a cup of Sorrow and said:"Drink from this cup and you will understandThe meaning of the fleeting instants ofThe joy of life, for Sorrow ever abounds."Versification and orchestration of Gibran poems will become the most pleasant verbal exercise in future.

Expulsion from home: the price of sin and learning.

These slightly edited and recast poems of Kahlil Gibran are the first of its kind that got published ever. Only a mind perfectly thrilled at creating such perfect and exquisite tunes can write those lines. It is theorized that Gibran wrote them in this exact way, and then to mislead readers, he rearranged his lines to make them look like blank verse. Considering the majesty and loftiness of his theme, it is not unlike him to disguise his poetry in this manner and divert readers from the dazzling glory of divinity. Many poets like Rabindranath Tagore and Sarojini Naidu also have successfully locked their lines before appreciators. It is contextual to note that these two poets were admirers of Kahlil Gibran. To perfectly appreciate their poems, the readers will have to unlock or rediscover their original writing. Readers, learners and researchers are advised to read the original blank-verse text of Gibran as well. It is hoped that more Gibran poems will be recast to bring out the rich musical content in them. Versification of Kahlil Gibran poems and orchestrating them in their original tunes will become the most pleasant verbal exercise in future in the English speaking Arab world.

Note

What Gibran wrote, he experienced. Not that what Gibran experienced, he wrote. Poetry should be fact melted down in philosophy. Philosophy is to be derived by an individual from the experience he gains. Therefore, a person who writes philosophical poems incommensurate with his age, without adequate back support of experience, will be forced to experience the very things he wrote. That is Nature's balancing. The author and the commenter of this article has undergone this trial and punishment for attempting works unbecoming of age. It happened so in regard to my own literary creations. Regarding the additional punishment I have had to bear for recasting Gibran poems, I have decided to write about it in detail sometime, if allowed. One thing is certain. Kahlil Gibran wrote superb philosophical poems which fitted not his age. And he escaped from experiencing the very things. So the gravity of the residual energy envelops the poems like a black hole, draining the energy of all who deal with those poems. There have been equally disturbing stories about Shakespeare's certain plays which cause untoward incidents at wherever they are acted. The last time I heard, it was a chandelier that broke down from the roof and fell 'accidentally' on the stage.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Awakening - A Poem In Bengali Recast In The True Poetic Form By P S Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

AWAKENINGA Poem in Bengali by Rabeendranath Tagore. Translated into English verse by Rabeendranath Choudhury. Recast in the true poetic form by Remesh Chandran P S.

Him fountain of eternal joy from where life is renewed,Ageing and life to be drained out, exit from the world is nigh, When suddenly comes a call from Him above, who regulates The flow of life through cycles of many births and deaths, to stop.

Suddenly sounds the drum from sky for the second act of play,Life really awakens, drooping life joyfully responds to the call; The wintry night desolate soon turns into a joyous spring day,Undoing death, His rhythm and dance rejuvenates life force.

The flow of life from star to star follows the rhythm of his dance,Freed from the confinement of matters th'Earth finds salvation;With multitudinous fruits and grains and flowers of myriad huesHer baskets of seasons are filled to the till and brim and all.

Thus she attains the fulfillment at the touch of his dancing feet,The flow of life gushes up from death following incessantlyThe pattern of his rhythm and dance, to the tune of his golden flute;In the tornado of this violent dance, all that is withered falls.

The triumphal arch of life is erected midst the joyful tunes, And the journey of this spring meanders towards the fountain again.This poem was originally written in Bengali Language by Rabeendranath Tagore. Its Bengali title was Udbodhan. Translated into English by Rabeendranath Choudhury who expressed his wish somebody from some other generation may attempt the rest so that all the English-speaking people could enjoy India's Pride. And here it is.Recast in the true poetic form by P S Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum.

The ancient Sophist saints in Greece were exceptionally clever with the use of their tongues. Don't play with them- they can bind us cunningly with their tongues. And don't corner them- we will never forget what hit us. Here in this poem, one sophist saint is tried in Court for crime when Judges get stung. Classical sophists were well-versed in paradoxes, understanding the meaning of which won’t be easy. So, here, the court had to let him go free.

A poem with a Greek theme, praising the sophists' skill in paradoxes.

Words are what convey human thoughts to others, and unless they are sharpened and used as weapons, mankind won't survive, for man has no other armour than words to defend himself against other human beings. A sharper precise word, sometimes spoken loud, may act like weapon and save one’s life. In times of crises, faculties with words come naturally to man: it is so, because anti-survival instincts also are inborn in man; it’s a natural safeguard against self-destruction. No other creatures in the world have so much self-destructing traits in them as man. Saints, scholars and sophists are needed by mankind for safe-guarding against its own anti-survival instincts.

SOPHIST

A Poem By P S Remesh Chandran

A sophist saint in ancient Grecian land Said whatever he said was a falsity,

Was asked to state anything before he died, When once he'd committed an act of crime.

He would be hanged, if tell the truth he did; And would be beheaded, if he told untruth.

Being always prepared for th'unexpected, That to be beheaded was he, stated he.

If he was executed cutting throat, Then that would prove that what he'd told was truth,

For which the sentence had to be hanging him, Thereby to prove that he had told untruth,

For which again to be cut the head apart, Or if to be hanged; is this a paradox?

So thinking such and such the Judges swoon'd, And asked the saint to step out from the Court.

Thus neither to be beheaded or be hanged, He roamed the country side and forest land.

A magpie on the gallows, always swift to fly away.

A magpie on the gallows, swift to fly away.

Sophists were learnèd saints who lived among ancient Greeks and Romans. They were well-versed in paradoxes. A paradox is a statement which appears to be false, but which is true. One sophist once said: 'Whatever I say is false.' What is the true meaning of this phrase- is he a regular teller of lies or truth? If that statement is true, then he must be a regular teller of untruth. But what if that statement also is false? Then the meaning would be in the negative, meaning he would tell truth too occasionally. That is the skill of a sophist in dealing cleverly with words and escaping unscathed on occasions when faced with danger.

Sophists are sophistications in verbal combats, personified in human form.

Sophists can say tricky things, understanding the meaning of which wouldn’t be easy. Trying to understand the true meaning of their words would make our heads spin. That is why, in history, we see people keeping themselves at a distance from sophists, for fear of being outsmarted and also out of respect. Mathematics and Logic were developed remarkably well in ancient Greece. Analysis, logic and deduction were, and are, essentials to understanding the words of a Sophist. Sophists and their tricky sentences have always been a fascination for the world. They were sophistications of verbal combats personified in human form. In many lands they were known as Soofi Saints. We know Mulla Nazaruddeen was one among them. Such people who can soothe, please, entertain and terrorize the world through their words are what language, literature and society wants to have in plenty, but unfortunately is too short of.

He roamed the countryside and forest land.

He roamed the countryside and forest land.

Sophists are not a lost race. In all centuries and in all countries, they are there. Entertaining their people through wit and wisdom, encouraging them to laugh and learn through life, they live safe and secure among the intolerant and the jealous of their times, inspiring societies, villages, towns and nations with their words and lives. A person recently, in the same place where the Portuguese Captain Vasco da Gama landed in India and thereby opened the oceans of the Orient to European trade, thought that enough respect and reverence were not being given to the hundreds and hundreds of Washing Stones situated at that famous Kozhikkode beach. After centuries of continuous service, he saw, they were being neglected by people, without respecting their good service. So, he organized a large public meeting and a parade, to honour the centuries-long services of these washing stones. Thousands of people took part in that meeting and the parade, and paid tributes to the meritorious services of those washing stones. His name was late Mr. Raama Daasan Vaidyan- the same person who delighted and enlightened people through half-crazy but thoughtful acts, including the starting of a Coconut Climbing Training College. In every society, if we look, we can see sophists still in vigorous action, in the east, as well as in the west.

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of 'Swan, The Intelligent Picture Book'. Edits and owns Bloom Books Channel. Born and brought up in Nanniyode, a little village in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Kerala. Father British Council-trained English Teacher and mother university-educated. Matriculation with High First Class, Pre Degree studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship, discontinued Diploma Studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Sophists can say tricky things, understanding the meaning of which won't be so easy. In this poem the Sophist is said to have told people, whatever he said was a falsity. So we will begin to think that he is a frequent sayer of lies. But what if that very sentence also is a lie? Then it may mean that he may occasionally tell the truth. Trying to understand the true meaning of their sayings will make our heads spin. That is why in history we see that people kept them at a distance out of fear and out of respect. Such people who soothe, please, entertain and terrorise with words are what Language, Literature and the World wishes to have in plenty, but unfortunately are dwindling in numbers. Words are what convey human thought to others in the society, and unless they are sharpened and used as weapons, mankind won't survive. It is because anti-survival instincts are inborn in man. The relevance of saints, scholars and sophists lies in mankind's need for guarding against anti-survival instincts.

Sophists and their tricky sentences have always been a fascination for the world. They indeed are sophistication of verbal combats in the human form. In many lands they are known as Soofis. Thank you Rathnashikamani for your fine adjective. The content of the poem, in essence, it is.

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About The Editor

Born and brought up in a rural hamlet, Nanniyode, in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science in Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma Studies in Electronics and entered politics. Taught English Poetry for 30 years and served equally long in State Civil Service. Continuing. Unmarried and single. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam, including poetical collections, fictions and criticism. Ulsava Lahari, Darsana Deepthi, Puzhayozhukee Eevazhi, Vaidooryam, Manal, Jalaja Padma Raaji, Kaalam Jaalakavaathilil, Goodlaayi Graamum, Time Upon My Window Sill, The Good English Book and Swan, The Intelligent Picture Book are a few among.

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